Vise Technologies Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA – Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,366 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $736,000.
A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $915,734,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Murphy USA by 149.9% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 507,418 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $204,753,000 after buying an additional 304,354 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in Murphy USA by 676.7% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 170,215 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $69,243,000 after buying an additional 148,301 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Murphy USA during the second quarter valued at approximately $78,372,000. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the 4th quarter worth $50,726,000. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
MUSA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Capital One Financial began coverage on Murphy USA in a report on Monday, June 22nd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $710.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $655.00 to $633.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 7th. Bank of America upped their target price on Murphy USA from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $550.00 to $625.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Murphy USA currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $606.89.
Insider Transactions at Murphy USA
In other news, Director Diane N. Landen sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $547.25, for a total transaction of $1,641,750.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 53,841 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,464,487.25. This represents a 5.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Rosemary Turner sold 966 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $571.88, for a total value of $552,436.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 449 shares in the company, valued at $256,774.12. The trade was a 68.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 5,016 shares of company stock worth $2,750,098. Corporate insiders own 9.02% of the company’s stock.
Murphy USA Stock Performance
Murphy USA stock opened at $567.65 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $576.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $519.89. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52-week low of $349.83 and a 52-week high of $636.04.
Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The specialty retailer reported $11.27 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.95 by $1.32. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.87% and a return on equity of 96.01%. The firm had revenue of $6.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $7.36 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 36.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 33.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Murphy USA Increases Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 24th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 24th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.80%.
Murphy USA Profile
Murphy USA is a leading downstream marketer of gasoline, diesel and convenience store products in the United States. Headquartered in El Dorado, Arkansas, the company was originally established as part of Murphy Oil Corporation and was spun off as an independent public entity in 2013. Since its separation, Murphy USA has focused on retail fueling services and convenience offerings designed to deliver value and convenience to consumers.
The company’s primary operations center on two retail formats.
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